Shipping chicks that are not day olds?

[MsChickenMomma]

Okay... So I have a question. Is it possible to ship a chick/chicks, that are not day olds? I have a 4-6 week old baby that I need to get home with me (currently in Arkansas, home is in Michigan). It is a rare Kentucky Speck baby, that I would really like to get home with me. I am flying home on Wednesday, and already contacted the airport, and I am not allowed to take the baby with me on the flight, or even ship it as cargo. Because it is not a day old chick. So is it possible to ship one chicken, through like, USPS or UPS?

I really would like to be able to get this baby home. But I have no idea if it is even possible (or safe), to mail him by himself.

Any input would be great. Thanks!

P.S. I had no idea what section to post this in. So hopefully this is okay?

 

[HappyHensFarmWV]

I know there will be a lot of people that criticize me for saying this, bc there are people with legitimate therapy animals that catch hassle when it comes time to fly...but if you can bring yourself to tell a 'white lie', you can tell the airlines that it is your therapy animal.
I know people ship adults all the time, but I'm sure it's pretty hard on them and if you're not getting several and don't want to risk the single bird, it's probably the best chance of your bird arriving safe

FYI : I train dogs for therapy, visit nursing homes and hospitals with my bully who has her CGC and have several friends that have legitimate therapy animals, so I am in no way trying to be insensitive

 

[Pyxis]

Yes, you can ship it, but you'll probably have to be NPIP certified, especially right now when there are bird flu fears, and you also need a special box too.

 

[MsChickenMomma]

Seeing as I already contacted Delta airlines to ask about shipping poultry, I don't think I would be able to use that white lie. Otherwise I would try that, even though I don't particularly like lying. But I would really like to be able to get this little guy home safe with me.

Pyxis: Do you know how I could go about becoming NPIP certified? And is it possible to get a box small enough for a bird that literally fits inside of my hand? And where would I get a box?

Thank you so much to you both for taking the time to respond to my post.

 

[Pyxis]

You need to contact your state vet and they'll give you the specifics about becoming NPIP. You won't be able to find a box that small, but you could use a chick box and block off most of it like hatcheries do when sending small orders. I'd also send him with a small 72 hour heat pack if it's going to be chilly - they sell these on Amazon, mostly for shipping fish and reptiles, but it would work in this case. Several hatcheries sell the shipping boxes on their websites - I know Metzer and McMurray both do.

Edit: Here's a link to the boxes on McMurray's website.

 

[keesmom]

Here are Michigan's laws regarding importation of poultry. You will have to check to see if anything has changed because of AI.

Michigan

2. All poultry and hatching poultry eggs imported into Michigan shall be accompanied by one of the following:

a. Official interstate health certificate.
b. Official certificate of veterinary inspection.
c. “Report of Sales of Hatching Eggs, Chicks, and Poults” (VS form 9-3) for participants in the National Poultry Improvement Plan.
d. Owner-shipper statement or sales invoice if consigned directly to slaughter.
e. “Permit for Movement of Restricted Animals” (VS form 1-27), if prior approval is granted by the Director.

3. All poultry imported into Michigan, except those consigned directly to a state or federally inspected slaughter facility or to a livestock auction market for sale as slaughter poultry, shall meet one or both of the following requirements:

a. Originate directly from an U.S. Salmonella pullorum-typhoid clean flock as defined in Title 9 of the Code of Federal Regulations, and all amendments to that publication thereafter adopted pursuant to rules that the Director may promulgate.
b. Have a negative official test for Salmonella pullorum-typhoid within 90 days prior to importation and remain segregated from all poultry of unknown or positive Salmonella pullorum-typhoid test status.

4. Poultry vaccinated for infectious laryngotracheitis shall not be imported into this state unless permission from the Director is granted. Any restrictions placed by the Director on the import of the poultry shall be followed.

 

[HappyHensFarmWV]

Is this your bird that you are wanting to move with you, or just one you found that you want?
Maybe ask the breeder (if that's the case) if they have some other chicks about the same age that you could have shipped with him.
Also, check into GroGel and see if whoever ships him will put a good bit of that with him..
I'm pretty sure the USPS has a special box that has to be used for live poultry, but you can always make it smaller like the above post says.
An the AI outbreak has several states on lock down right now..there's not even been an outbreak in my state and all swaps, shows, export/import has been banned.
You can also contact your county extension office (in the state you are shipping out of, not into) for NPIP info..here in WV, there is some type of funding where it is completely free of charge to particiapte..but I've heard of it costing up to say, 50$ fee and then 5 cents or so per bird tested.
Best of luck!! Hope you get him home safe and sound and fast ♡

 

[jonniesue]

I just received 4 week old chicks from a hatchery and they were sent through the U.S. postal service, next day of course. They included sliced cucumbers and were sent in a box marked "live birds". Hope this helps

 

[MsChickenMomma]

The bird belongs to my boyfriend. He has been trying to breed his two Kentucky Speck pairs for a few years now, and hasn't been having good success with it. He finally got two eggs to hatch, but sadly one of the babies didn't make it past about 4 weeks old. So this little guy is all by himself. My boyfriend doesn't have a place for it, and can't integrate him into his young flock without them hurting him, since he's alone. So I was going to take it home with me. Since he is a rare breed, we don't really want him to go to just anyone, or anywhere.

We are looking into some shipping options for him, and asking some other breeders about requirements and such for shipping live poultry.

Thank you so much for all of the help, everyone. Hopefully we can find a way to get this little guy home with me.

 

[dekel18042]

I know there will be a lot of people that criticize me for saying this, bc there are people with legitimate therapy animals that catch hassle when it comes time to fly...but if you can bring yourself to tell a 'white lie', you can tell the airlines that it is your therapy animal.
I know people ship adults all the time, but I'm sure it's pretty hard on them and if you're not getting several and don't want to risk the single bird, it's probably the best chance of your bird arriving safe

FYI : I train dogs for therapy, visit nursing homes and hospitals with my bully who has her CGC and have several friends that have legitimate therapy animals, so I am in no way trying to be insensitive

Several of my dogs had the TDI designation, but I would not lie about an animal (or bird) being a therapy animal when it is not the case. First, therapy animals have been trained and pass a test. If it is your own personal animal for yourself, it should be trained to do something or fill a need (example sense when a seizure is coming on, or low blood sugar, seeing eye dog, pick up something you've dropped. etc)
I wasn't aware that a dog with the TDI designation which visits in a variety of settings and is willing to meet and comfort people is allowed carte blanche in traveling. Plus with it getting harder and harder to travel with animals and more and more restrictions, if you are caught in a lie, that may make it harder for the next legitimate therapy animal to travel if more restrictions are put in place.
While it is illegal to ask a person about a disability, legitimate therapy animals do have ID.
I have had parrots shipped and they are put in a small carrier with chopped up fruit and vegetables (lots of oranges, apples, cherries, and grapes) to supply them with nourishment and liquid. That may be the best route to take.
After rereading your post I'm adding: You say the baby is 4-6 weeks old. It is possible, I've done it a few times, to add a singleton, even a young cockerel, to an existing flock containing roosters. That boy was about 9 weeks old. Young, but the weather was getting cold and I didn't want him being alone. I had tried to add him to a few a month older but those were really mean to him and drew blood. So when I decided to put them into the main flock I put him in too, figuring the other young ones would be too busy to bother with him. It worked.
I hung out in the coop most of the day. After the first day they let him alone (The adult rooster actually befriended him) and gradually he integrated. He's a beautiful rooster, #2 in ranking and both roosters are still with the flock.
I would wait until he stopped making baby noises and perhaps he could be in a pen within a pen or in a wired in area next to where he is going to be integrated so the birds can get used to each other.